If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. -Maya Angelou
The Lesson
I keep dying again.
Veins collapse, opening like the
Small fists of sleeping
Children.
Memory of old tombs,
Rotting flesh and worms do
Not convince me against
The challenge. The years
And cold defeat live deep in
Lines along my face.
They dull my eyes, yet
I keep on dying,
Because I love to live.
- Maya Angelou
Refusal
In what other lives or lands
Have I know your lips
Your hands.
Your laughter brave
Irreverent.
Those sweet excesses that
I do adore.
What surety is there
That we will meet again,
On other worlds some
Future time undated.
I defy my body's haste.
Without the promise
Of one more sweet encounter
I will not deign to die.
- Maya Angelou
Recovery
A last love,
proper in conclusion,
should snip the wings
forbidding further flight.
But I, now,
reft of that confusion,
am lifted up
and speeding toward the light.
- Maya Angelou
Analysis
My reaction to this poem was it was
a bit hard to understand at first, but as
I read it over and over again, I began to get
the general idea of the poem. The poem is
teaching a lesson that even when
obstacles come in your way in life, you
should still live your life. I do like this poem
because it is teaching you to live life even
when things try to get in your way.
The poetic device used here is symbolism
because the veins collapsing and the
memories of the old tombs, etc, are
symbolizing the obstacles that one may
have to overcome in their life so they can
keep on living their life.
Since this peom is a free verse poem, it
doesn't have a rhyme scheme.
The theme of this poem is to just keep
living your life even when life throws
obstacles in the way of you living your life.
Analysis
My reaction to this poem was
I thought it was kind of sad
because it is about someone
who has lost lover and this
person is saying how she
loved these features about
her lover. She also was
how she refuses to believe
that she won't see her lover
again and she doesn't mind
dying because she knows
she will be reunited with him.
The poetic device used here
is imagery because she does
describe the things that she
loved about her lover and she
talks about some of the traits
that she loved about him
This poem is also a free
verse poem which means
that there is no rhyme
scheme.
The theme of this is to hold
on to your loved ones who
have passed on and hold on
to your memories of them
because you will be reunited
with them again.
Analysis
My reaction to this poem was
I felt that this poem is
impowering because it is
talking about someone who
has just gotten out of a
relationship and at first it was
hard to move on but then
they start to recover slowly
until they had become
completely over that person. It
is impowering because it
gives people, who have just
gotten over a relationship,
hope to know that one day
they will get over that person
ad recover completely.
The poetic device used here
is symbolism.
Symbolism was in this poem
because the snipped wings
were symbolizing the
depression you have when
you first get out of the
relationship with your love
and the light is symbolizing
the sign of getting over that
relationship.
The Rhyme scheme is:
A B C D E A F D
The theme of this poem is
that things will get better
when given the time to have
a chance to heal.
Biography
Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri as Marguerite Johnson
In formative years, she lived in small, complete segregated towns when she wanted to become the 1st black street car conductor
In 1950s, she was a dancer with Pearl Primus in New York
Later she became a singer, but only in nightclubs
In the 1960s, she joined the Harlem Writers Guild and became involved in black activism
She spent several years in Ghana as editor of "The African Review" newspaper
In 1970, she became a national celebrity with the publication of, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. It was the 1st volume of her autobiography.
In From 1971- 1983, she wrote many famous poems.
In 1977, She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her portrayal og Nyo Boto in television adaption of the best selling novel, "Roots."
If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.
-Maya Angelou
I keep dying again.
Veins collapse, opening like the
Small fists of sleeping
Children.
Memory of old tombs,
Rotting flesh and worms do
Not convince me against
The challenge. The years
And cold defeat live deep in
Lines along my face.
They dull my eyes, yet
I keep on dying,
Because I love to live.
- Maya Angelou
In what other lives or lands
Have I know your lips
Your hands.
Your laughter brave
Irreverent.
Those sweet excesses that
I do adore.
What surety is there
That we will meet again,
On other worlds some
Future time undated.
I defy my body's haste.
Without the promise
Of one more sweet encounter
I will not deign to die.
- Maya Angelou
A last love,
proper in conclusion,
should snip the wings
forbidding further flight.
But I, now,
reft of that confusion,
am lifted up
and speeding toward the light.
- Maya Angelou
My reaction to this poem was it was
a bit hard to understand at first, but as
I read it over and over again, I began to get
the general idea of the poem. The poem is
teaching a lesson that even when
obstacles come in your way in life, you
should still live your life. I do like this poem
because it is teaching you to live life even
when things try to get in your way.
The poetic device used here is symbolism
because the veins collapsing and the
memories of the old tombs, etc, are
symbolizing the obstacles that one may
have to overcome in their life so they can
keep on living their life.
Since this peom is a free verse poem, it
doesn't have a rhyme scheme.
The theme of this poem is to just keep
living your life even when life throws
obstacles in the way of you living your life.
My reaction to this poem was
I thought it was kind of sad
because it is about someone
who has lost lover and this
person is saying how she
loved these features about
her lover. She also was
how she refuses to believe
that she won't see her lover
again and she doesn't mind
dying because she knows
she will be reunited with him.
The poetic device used here
is imagery because she does
describe the things that she
loved about her lover and she
talks about some of the traits
that she loved about him
This poem is also a free
verse poem which means
that there is no rhyme
scheme.
The theme of this is to hold
on to your loved ones who
have passed on and hold on
to your memories of them
because you will be reunited
with them again.
My reaction to this poem was
I felt that this poem is
impowering because it is
talking about someone who
has just gotten out of a
relationship and at first it was
hard to move on but then
they start to recover slowly
until they had become
completely over that person. It
is impowering because it
gives people, who have just
gotten over a relationship,
hope to know that one day
they will get over that person
ad recover completely.
The poetic device used here
is symbolism.
Symbolism was in this poem
because the snipped wings
were symbolizing the
depression you have when
you first get out of the
relationship with your love
and the light is symbolizing
the sign of getting over that
relationship.
The Rhyme scheme is:
A B C D E A F D
The theme of this poem is
that things will get better
when given the time to have
a chance to heal.
Biography
Bibliography
"Maya Angelou". Afro Poets, Net. 5 Macrh 2010 ,<http://www.afropoets.net/mayaangelou.html>.
"Maya Angelou." 2010. Biography.com. 1 Mar 2010, http://www.biography.com/articles/Maya-Angelou-9185388.
"All Quotes by Maya Angelou". 3 March 2010 http://www.quotesdaddy.com/author/Maya+Angelou.